50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)

50th Street
"C" train "E" train
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Downtown platform on upper level
Station statistics
Address West 50th Street & Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Borough Manhattan
Locale Hell's Kitchen, Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates 40°45′44″N 73°59′10″W / 40.762276°N 73.986139°W / 40.762276; -73.986139Coordinates: 40°45′44″N 73°59′10″W / 40.762276°N 73.986139°W / 40.762276; -73.986139
Division B (IND)
Line       IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services       A  (late nights)
      C  (all except late nights)
      E  (all times)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M20, M50, M104
Structure Underground
Levels 2
Platforms 4 side platforms (2 on each level)
Tracks 6 (4 on upper level, 2 on lower level)
Other information
Opened September 10, 1932 (1932-09-10)[1] (upper level)
August 19, 1933 (1933-08-19) (lower level)
Station code 162[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible (southbound only)
Wireless service [3]
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 6,778,797[4]Decrease 0.7%
Rank 65 out of 422
Station succession
Next north 59th Street–Columbus Circle (via 8th Avenue): A  C 
Seventh Avenue (Queens Boulevard): E 
Next south 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal: A  C  E 


Next north northbound platform not accessible
Previous accessible station southbound for the A C trains: 59th Street–Columbus Circle: A  C 
Previous accessible station southbound for the E train: Lexington Avenue–53rd Street: E 
Next south 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal: A  C  E 

50th Street is a bi-level station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The lower level is served by the E train at all times, and the upper level is served by the C at all times except late nights and the A during late nights.

Station layout

Track layout
to 59 St
to 7 Av
Superimposed tunnels
Outer platforms over
inner platforms
(Platform levels are staggered)
to 42 St
Upper level
Lower level
G Street Level Exit/Entrance
(Elevator on north side of 49th Street west of Eighth Avenue for southbound trains only)
B1 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound local "C" train toward 168th Street ("A" train toward 207th Street late nights) (59th Street)
Northbound express "A" train does not stop here
Southbound express "A" train does not stop here →
Southbound local "C" train toward Euclid Avenue ("A" train toward Far Rockaway late nights) (42nd Street–PABT)
Side platform, doors will open on the right
B2 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound QBL "E" train toward Jamaica Center (Seventh Avenue)
Wall
Southbound QBL "E" train toward World Trade Center (42nd Street–PABT)
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Escalator from the lower level southbound platform
Street stair

This bi-level station, opened on September 10, 1932,[1][5] has six tracks and four side platforms in total. The upper level is fed by Eighth Avenue local trains from Central Park West and has four tracks and two side platforms. The center express tracks carry Eighth Avenue express trains during the day, and do not have any platforms. Fare control is at platform level.

The lower level has two tracks and two side platforms, separated by a curtain wall. The northbound track of the lower level is fed by the northbound local and express tracks at 42nd Street. In the southbound direction, lower level trains may access either the Eighth Avenue local or express tracks; until recently, they also had the option of running to the abandoned lower level of 42nd Street. The two levels are offset, with the upper level running from 50th to 52nd Streets and the lower from 49th to 51st. Neither level has crossover or crossunder between directions, although level-to-level transfer in the same direction is possible.

The station is being renovated as part of the 2010–2014 MTA Capital Program. As of an MTA study conducted in 2015, at least 37% of components were out of date.[6]

Exits

The southbound side of 50th Street has an expanded mezzanine area, with exits to West 49th and West 50th Streets; it also has two ADA-accessible elevators (one from the street to the mezzanine, the other from the mezzanine to the lower-level platform). A ramp leads from the mezzanine to the downtown upper-level platform, which is only a few steps down. This mezzanine was reconstructed during the construction of the Worldwide Plaza Complex. An untitled etched-granite piece of artwork by Matt Mulligan was installed on the downtown upper-level platform in 1989 and features neighborhood life. The downtown side has an escalator to the lower level and exits into a building façade at the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 49th Street. There are also two street stairs to the southwest corner of that intersection, as well as one street stair to either western corner of 8th Avenue and 50th Street.[7]

In contrast to the downtown platforms, the uptown platforms lack elevators and are not ADA-accessible. Renovation, including addition of an elevator on the uptown side of the station, was planned for the 2005–2009 MTA Capital Program and was to reopen many closed stairways to the lower level; however, the elevator was not funded. There is one street stair from this platform to either eastern corner of 8th Avenue and 50th Street; the southeast stair is located inside a building. An additional stair is located at the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and 51st Street.[7]

There are several closed exits from the station to the street, primarily at the north end of the station. These include stairs from all four corners of 8th Avenue and 52nd Streets. A closed exit goes from the downtown platforms to the southwest corner of 51st Street and 8th Avenue. An additional closed exit from the uptown side is located at the southeast corner of 49th Street and 8th Avenue.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 New York Times, List of the 28 Stations on the New Eighth Ave Line, September 10, 1932, page 6
  2. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  3. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  4. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2011–2016". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 31, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  5. Crowell, Paul (September 10, 1932). "Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains In The New Subway: Throngs at Station an Hour Before Time, Rush Turnstiles When Chains are Dropped". New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Review of the A and C Lines" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midtown West" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
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